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Pending and in progress

The last week and a half has felt like a constant process of sitting in limbo. I know that if we were closer to Port or in the city we would be run off our feet with helping out. That would just be the way it was. Because we’re physically removed there’s only so much “hands on” stuff we can do. I’ve seen both Chris and I getting skittish because I think we both want to be doing more but aren’t physically present to do so. We know the best thing we can do is be available and try to help out where we can while we keep things running here. We’ve had things look like they’re coming together and then change at a moments notice and we’ve rolled with it because we’re the Rollings. Sorry, couldn’t resist. We’ve gone with it because that’s what’s needed right now.

There are some things “pending” and some in progress and some we’re excited about and some that are done.

I took one of our guards and his family down to the Pierre Payen hospital yesterday while our staff installed a filter in the guest house for the American doctors so they could have constant drinking water there. Our guards son has a problem with holding his head up and has been waiting for months to see one of the doctors that happens to be here now. We went down to make that happen but Dr. Ric hadn’t gotten back from Port yet. Renel and his wife are going back this morning to try and connect with Dr. Ric. We think it’s probably a neurological issue but Dr. Ric works in Pediatrics so he can make that call better than any of us.

While I was at the hospital I asked how the girl that was in the hit and run was doing. She has suffered from major internal injuries in her bottom area and female parts. Turns out Dr. Ric was in Port because he was able to fly with her to Miami and get her into a hospital there where they can provide better care for her. That’s one blessing of this whole thing. She never would have had that kind of care here.

Our filter delivery day on Wednesday was a success and the truck will be going back to Port tomorrow with another load. I think we’re going to keep going until it doesn’t work or we some reason to stop. There’s that flexibility thing kicking in.

My laundry is all caught up :)

We have been looking at ways to get Peter and Sara into the country and the other day a blog reader contacted me to say that he could probably help with that while he was trying to connect medical supplies to other NGO’s on the ground. It’s all still *pending*, but if it’s a go they could be here by Tuesday or Wednesday next week. We would love prayers about that, not just for the Craigs but also that the plane will get the clearance it needs to get supplies in. It keeps getting bumped back. It would be a big help to a lot of people.

People have been asking us what the needs of the mission are right now. We have two big ones. One is a new delivery truck. We are down to one working vehicle. The blue truck is at the stage where we might just need to start selling it off as parts. We were already planning on getting a 4×4 Mitsubishi Canter, a workhorse that would let us get into areas we can’t get to now, later in the spring. We put the info out to our support base and found out yesterday that we have a donor! The truck is covered! We were hoping the funds would be in place for us to go in as soon as we hear of dealerships opening up as we know there will probably be a run on these and the port not functioning fully means shipments might not arrive for months. We are SO grateful!

Another big need we have right now is a passenger vehicle. Our van is still at the Toyota dealership and we have no idea on it’s status. At best it’s still going to be a very, very long time before it can be fixed because those last parts still hadn’t arrived yet. Thinking about even trying to get it fixed is enough to bring on a headache. We had already planned on purchasing another passenger vehicle at the end of the year for Peter and Sara to use at the new site. Our new plan is to go ahead with purchasing that passenger vehicle as soon as possible so we have something here for our two families to share. We’ve got people that are helping with fundraising and looking at options for us. We’re grateful for that.

A nurse friend from my home church is making her way to Florida today to wait on a flight in with MFI. She will be working with the American doctors at the St. Marc hospital as they care for those that have been brought out. Specifically she’ll be training Haitian nurses in wound cleaning, packing and care. I’m looking forward to seeing a familiar face from home.

Tomorrow evening Chris is going to be going in to Port to help a friend of ours. He’s coordinating the set up of another hospital and asked Chris if he could help transport stuff from the airport to the site as it arrives. We’re just doing some juggling with trucks to make that work. I guess that would technically fall under the *pending* category. It amazes me that an entire hospital can be packed into a plane and set up in a matter of hours. Amazing.

I feel like there are things I should be doing, but not quite sure exactly what those are. Water my plants. Probably yes. Reorganize Olivias drawers since she emptied their contents on the floor for the second time in a week. Yes. I need to make a list and then just do it. Yonese worked three days this week. Usually she does two, but because I was gone Tuesday for Manba Chris had her come in to help out with Olivia so he could get some work done. Yonese is one of our favorite people here. She’s whipped our house back in to some manageable shape and I feel like I can breathe again. We get each other and often before I can ask her to do a specific thing, usually something nagging in the back of my brain, I find her already working on it and we laugh about having the same idea :) That and Olivia LOVES her and she LOVES Olivia. Everyone wins.

I have some now *pending* plans. The week before the quake I booked my airfare for a trip home. I was asked to speak and go take care of some mission stuff, and also see my family. It’s been over a year. I hadn’t said anything here because the weekend I’m home is my Dad’s birthday and we were going to surprise him, but the cat got let out of the bag last week. Obviously. We’ve heard American is resuming flights by the end of the month, but we’ll see. I feel like I’m sitting in limbo. Of course, if I can’t go home it will be totally fine. It would just be really nice to follow through with that and do the engagements that were set up, especially now. And it would feel good to hug my family.

Okay, life is calling.

~Leslie

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About Leslie

I'm Leslie. Wife. Mother. Missionary. In the day to day my husband and I are responsible for running Clean Water for Haiti, a humanitarian mission that builds and distributes water filters to Haitian families. Living in Haiti full time provides lots of stories, and as I tell my husband, our grandkids probably won't believe most of them. Maybe writing them down will give me some credibility.